Heaven was not as nice a place as humans seem to believe. Admittedly, humans saw very little of heaven when they died. They were confined to their gardens and varying paradises, each crafted especially for them, and I'm sure it pleased them well enough. But only angels knew the real heaven.
Heaven was a cold, lonely place. Full of long hallways and too-bright lights. And big, too. On your rounds, you could go for hours taking data without seeing a single soul.
Well, you would see souls, just not... you get the point.
I far preferred earth to heaven, generally. Earth was warm and full of life, and altogether unlike heaven. It hadn't always been like that. Before humanity, when I was a fledgling and earth was little more than a lump of molten rock, my favorite brothers and I filled heaven with color and laughter. But they were gone now.
With nothing but quiet halls and locked doors to occupy my mind, I could only consider the matter at hand.
This summons was strange. It wasn't often that I, or any angel, was called away from a post. I was certain I hadn't done anything wrong recently. Almost certain. My siblings did seem to enjoy finding fault with my actions, so I could never be quite sure.
In any case, I would know soon enough.
As I arrived, I found myself in a room that was at once familiar and oddly foreign. It was familiar, of course, because every office and boardroom in heaven was virtually identical. If it weren't for angelic intuition, one could probably lose themselves completely in the sheer uniformity of the place.
But this office was just slightly different. Maybe it was a bit bigger or a bit brighter than the rest. It wasn't much, but it was enough to nag uncomfortably at the corner of my mind.
Perhaps it was the angel who sat at the desk in the center of the office. I had never seen her before. It was rare that I encountered an angel I didn't recognize, especially on a routine summons. Or rather, on what I had hoped to be a routine summons, but which was becoming less and less of one with each passing moment.
Before I could worry myself with that thought I pulled myself all the way into the room, making sure the woman was aware of my presence. Better to get this over with, I suppose.
"Castiel," she said calmly. "Sit."
She gestured to one of the clean white chairs placed in front of the desk. I narrowed my eyes, but complied.
"I am Naomi," she finished.
For several seconds we sat in silence as she seemed to study me carefully. I could feel her grace probing my mind, pushing roughly through my thoughts and memories.
"I suppose I can see what he saw in you," Naomi said finally. "You are a good soldier. You've fought well in the name of heaven." Under her austere angelic mask, I almost saw a smirk. "Of course, I see other parts of you as well. The parts that dream of rebellion, that hunger for chaos." She shot me a prolonged stare, shaking her head thoughtfully, and I shrank away from her gaze.
"But he is wise, and he chose you. Who am I to question his judgement?"
"Whose judgement?" I said before Naomi could resume her prying into my soul.
The other angel looked at me, her face sobering. "Castiel," she said. "You were chosen by God."